The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for global passenger demand in October 2024, revealing a robust 7.1% increase in total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), compared to October 2023.
Capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), rose by 6.1% year-on-year, while the global load factor reached 83.9%, an improvement of 0.8 percentage points.
International passenger demand grew 9.5%, with an 8.6% rise in capacity and a load factor of 83.5% (+0.6ppt). Meanwhile, domestic travel demand increased by 3.5%, with capacity up 2.0% and a load factor of 84.5% (+1.2ppt).
IATA’s Director-General, Willie Walsh, praised the industry’s efficiency:
“Continued strong and stable demand is good news, but just as important is the steady improvement in load factors. Average seat factors have risen from around 67 percent in the 1990s to over 83 percent today.”
Regionally, Asia-Pacific airlines led with a 17.5% surge in demand, while European carriers achieved an 8.7% increase. Africa saw a 10.4% rise, with its load factor climbing to 73.2% (+3.4ppt). The Middle East and North America posted modest gains of 2.2% and 3.2%, respectively, while Latin America saw a 10.9% growth in demand but a slight dip in load factor (-0.6ppt).
Despite growth across all regions, Europe maintained the highest load factor at 85.7%, while African airlines demonstrated the sharpest capacity-demand balance improvement.
The data underscores the resilience of global air travel as airlines continue to recover and optimize efficiency.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
